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Caught My Eye…

Remember…Whoever is trying to bring you down is already below you. ― Ziad K. Abdelnour

Welcome to the big show to end the week “Caught My Eye” (CME)!

If you are a first-time visitor, welcome! CME is the once a week column that is posted here every Friday morning. This is when I take a look at some of the stories I did not have time to write about during the week. There may be some sarcasm and pointed commentary so be warned!

Here are the topics that “Caught My Eye” this week:

Just Call Me Nostradamus (Kavanaugh)

Steve Daines – Publicity Hound

U.S. Senate Debate Postponed

The Old Fact Check

One More Thing

Just Call Me Nostradamus:

The FBI completed their investigation into the allegations against Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Early.

According to ABC News, the report was delivered to Capitol Hill at 2:30 a.m. Thursday.

This was the investigation that was pushed by the Democrats last week. They wanted it. They asked Kavanaugh over and over to demand one. The Democrats are not in charge, so they needed help, and Republican Jeff Flake came to their rescue. The Democrats and their supporters loved Flake for pushing for it.

The Democrats got their effing investigation.

Earlier this week I wrote this:

Look for the Democrats to want to delay the vote on Kavanaugh longer because of something that “needs further investigation.” Republicans will want to vote on Friday. Democrats will say the investigation was not fair.

So now the Democrats are saying the investigation is “incomplete” and was “too narrow in scope and left out critical witnesses.”

Reuters reported that Democratic Senator Dianne Feinstein said it appeared that the White House “blocked the FBI from doing its job.”

The Democrats are saying the investigation is incomplete because the FBI did not interview Dr. Christine Blasey Ford and Brett Kavanaugh. The fact is they were interviewed and grilled by the Senate Judiciary Committee and by staff from that committee.

The Democrats are also saying things like Kavanaugh does not have the “judicial temperament” to sit on the high court because of his forceful testimony last week. I liked his testimony. When someone is trying to destroy your life, I think you have a right to be a little pissed.

Kavanaugh penned an opinion piece in the Wall Street Journal where he said, “Yes, I was emotional last Thursday. I hope everyone can understand I was there as a son, husband and dad.” You can read the opinion piece HERE.

Members of the cable news station MSNBC are about to blow a fuse over the chance that Kavanaugh will be confirmed. On the other side, Fox News is about to wet their pants with anticipation on hearing that the 51st vote has been cast for Kavanaugh.

CNN is probably covering the weather.

Give me a break – just vote already.

It looks like the first procedural vote (cloture) is scheduled for Friday around 10:00 a.m. (Eastern Time). If that is successful or unless the Democrats pull another rabbit out of their hat, there can or probably will be up to 30 hours of debate.

Those 30 hours of debate will be pure theater.

There could be a final vote Saturday afternoon.

Up until November 2013, they would have needed three-fifths of the Senate (normally 60 votes) to invoke cloture, but that changed. It was changed when the Democrats were in the majority. Bet they wish they still needed 60 votes, now!

More information about the cloture and the nomination subject can be found HERE.

I also said this was fundraising gold. On Thursday I received an email from U.S. Senator Kamala Harris, who is a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee and a rising star:

Mitch McConnell has filed cloture on Kavanaugh’s nomination to the Supreme Court, which means a vote on his confirmation in the full Senate is imminent and we need to fight back with everything we’ve got.

I want you to know I am doing all I can to stop Kavanaugh from being confirmed this week — and I’m not alone in that fight.

Harris is asking for help for fellow Senator Joe Donnelly. She writes

I am personally asking you to rush a donation of $10 or more to Joe Donnelly’s re-election campaign. Joe’s race is within the margin of error in every poll — meaning your support could be the difference:

One of the more interesting things is the protest from the Democrats over Kavanaugh may be uniting the Republicans and their base. That could be a problem for Democrats in the midterms.

We know from both sides that whatever happens this will not be over. Remember we had or still are having long hearings/investigations on Whitewater, Benghazi, Clinton emails, Uranium One, Katrina, etc.

All I can say is get the popcorn ready – the next couple of days will be interesting.

Here’s a prediction: The sun will come up Monday and the Republic will still be standing!

Steve Daines – Publicity Hound:

Out of the blue Thursday evening, it was announced that U.S. Senator Steve Daines (R-MT) had told the Associated Press that he was going to attend his daughter’s wedding in Montana on Saturday regardless of a possible weekend Senate vote on Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh.

Soon after that, the news spread across the internet – probably like Daines had planned so that he could get his 15 minutes of attention.

My first thought was that Daines is a rich ^&%$# and could charter a jet to fly back to Montana. My second thought was that Daines should have brought his problem to the attention of his Senate leaders and worked something out instead of to the media.

Veterans and members of the military are probably getting a chuckle about the rich man’s problems, as I know I missed several birthdays, weddings, and funerals while serving.

Supposedly Daines will be available to get back to D.C. on Saturday if his vote is needed.

On the other side of the coin, when I was trying to determine the time of the wedding, I saw that someone left comments on his daughter’s wedding page about Kavanaugh. This is bullshit. The person who left it has no class at all.

I do wish the new couple the best as they start their lives together.

U.S. Senate Debate Postponed:

Due to the Senate vote on Brett Kavanaugh Saturday, U.S. Senator Jon Tester will have to be in DC that day so his debate with Matt Rosendale has been postponed. (MTN)

They hope to reschedule. I will be surprised if they can agree on another date.

The Old Fact Check:

We don’t see members of the media performing fact checks on things that candidates say that often. It was refreshing to see the Associated Press (AP) do a Fact Check about the controversy surrounding the problem scheduling a meeting between Brett Kavanaugh and U.S. Senator Jon Tester.

Tester’s opponent, Matt Rosendale, said that Tester was putting off meetings with Kavanaugh basically saying he refused to meet Kavanaugh.

The AP found that Rosendale got it mostly wrong. Tester’s staff attempted multiple times to set up a meeting but could not agree with the White House on a date, according to emails released by Tester’s office.

The AP did find that Rosendale was right that Tester falsely claimed the White House canceled a meeting.

Using this calculator, depending upon the jet, the cost is 20k to 42K dollars for two passengers on a charted jet from BZN to DCA one-way. Daines (or his campaign) has to pay fair market value. https://t.co/4fyeB4LjsT